Short Story: [Emberfate] Making a Difference

Hello! 

First off, welcome to new patrons! Thank you so much for supporting the Patreon! :) 

Now onto the main stuff. This month, we have another short story for Emberfate, Khanyisa's installment in the "had a bad day" prompt series.  As usual, it's written by Nic W and edited by me. 

If you have any ideas or prompts you'd like to see for the future short stories series, feel free to suggest by commenting below! 

I hope you all enjoy this story! :) 

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The inviting smell of coffee and fresh pastries hits you the second you push open the door to your favorite cafe, its familiar decor and welcoming ambiance quickly beckoning you inside. You head to your usual spot, off in the quiet, windowed corner of the bustling room. Pulling out your favorite chair, you let out a relieved sigh as you drop your things and settle yourself more comfortably. A pair of menus sit off to the side, but you elect not to start thumbing through it yet, wanting to wait for Khanyisa.

With that thought, you pull out your phone from your pocket with a frown, eyes widening as you catch sight of the time. You're almost half an hour late; the day has gone much faster than you thought. But then… where is Khanyisa? You glance around the room, checking if you somehow missed each other, but there's no sign of her.

Your frown deepens. It's unlike either of you to be late like this. Neither of you have been willing to waste a single second that could be spent with each other amidst your busy schedules.

Glancing again at the clock, you elect to send her a quick text, asking if everything is okay, and lean back to wait. You close your eyes, taking a moment to relax. Soon, the soft buzz of your phone reclaims your attention. You immediately pick it up and scan the message, your concern mounting at the undercurrent of stress you catch in her reply.

Crap! Yes, sorry, I'm leaving the office now. I'll be there soon.

It's nearly 9:00 pm, and she's just getting off work? I mean, true, that used to be a regular occurrence for her. You can easily recall the days when she first joined your Emberfate guild — she always seemed to be working then, sometimes till as late as past midnight. But as you two became close and transitioned from friends to partners, she became much more serious about maintaining a stricter balance between her work and personal life — something you were very proud of her for. For something to make her work this late on a Friday date night… It must be bad.

Khanyisa's office isn't too far from here, being only about ten minutes away, so you place an order for her favorite drink along with yours, just to have something nice to greet her with.

After what feels like an eternity, you finally see the frazzled visage of your girlfriend stumbling through the doors. She looks distinctly worried as she glances around the room for you, and you quickly raise your hand and stand up to make yourself more visible.

Gratifyingly enough, you watch some of her distress fade away as she catches sight of you and makes a beeline in your direction. Her expression has distinctly softened, a murmur of thanks leaving her as she plops down across from you. Her dark eyes brighten in delight as you push the ready-made drink towards her, though you notice that she still looks tired and somewhat down.

"Hi," she smiles softly, "I'm so glad to see you." However, just as fast as her smile appears, it disintegrates, and she immediately starts a torrent of apologies.

"I'm so sorry I'm late; I lost track of time completely. The hearing just lasted forever today. My client went totally off the rails of what we had planned for her to say, and there was just so much paperwork afterward and a meeting with my client's ex-husband as well…" She says this all rapid-fire without taking a breath. "It was a disaster," she finishes glumly.

The downcast expression and description of her difficult day sends a faint ring of alarm through your brain. You had known that she had taken on a client that was being troublesome and that said client's hearing was coming up, but you hadn't known that it was today. Khanyisa is still looking at you with a distinct apologetic expression, so before you address the rest of what she said, you can at least put her at ease about one thing.

"It's okay, Khanyisa, really, breathe." You smile at her. "I was late too. I just sat down a few minutes ago, actually. So if you're apologizing, then I should be as well."

The corners of her lips twitch, and she makes a vague hand motion to wave you off. "It's fine. I guess you're right. There's no need for either of us to apologize, but I'm glad you didn't have to wait long."

You nod in agreement but continue to scrutinize her. She looks calmer than she did a minute ago, but from the slight hunch of the shoulder to the way her teeth tug at the bottom of her lip, you can tell something is still bothering her. Probably the case, you realize.

"Do you want to talk about it?" You ask softly, and her eyes fly to yours.

"Well…" she starts, "you know I can't say much… And honestly, I mean, it's not a big deal anyway." She trails off reluctantly, eyes averting towards the ground, and you narrow your eyes into a glare, not believing it for a second.

"You don't have to tell me any personal information," you remind her, "but I think you need to get some of it out. It's clearly weighing on you, so that makes it a huge deal in my book."

Her gaze returns to yours, and seeing the earnestness in her expression, she lets out a soft exhale and nods, looking touched. "Well, for starters, it's just an… unpleasant case. Family law cases often are, and more often than you'd like, there isn't a clear hero or villain in the story. Having love crumble to hate can make people do awful things to each other." She rolls her shoulders back, her expression turning grim. "Especially when there are kids involved."

Ah, you can see where this is going. Khanyisa has always had a soft spot for children. She had confided in you once that it had been a difficult custody battle between one of her family member's and a vindictive ex that had pushed her into family law in the first place. But really, even without that, you think she would've found her way regardless; her deep desire to help makes her far different from the typical pop-culture depiction of a callous, money-hungry lawyer.

"But this case is…" She pauses, seeming like she's doing her best to find an acceptable descriptor. "Well, it's even worse than usual."

Khanyisa takes a deep breath to steel herself, a distinct aura of barely suppressed anger swirling around her. "Frankly, my client and her ex are both terrible people. Neither of them care at all about their children or what's best for them. Their only concern is how to best use them as a weapon against each other." Her voice breaks slightly. "It's awful, watching them argue over the kids as if they aren't human. Neither of them should be parents."

Your frown deepens. "I'm sorry," you say, shifting back and forth, feeling helpless as you struggle to find the right words in the wake of her confession. "Could they be reported for something?" You ask, but she immediately shakes her head.

"No," she says, "there's no actual abuse for me to report, and their needs are being met, but I just feel so awful for these kids. I don't know if things were this bad before the divorce, but I somehow doubt that whether my client wins or her ex does, they’ll have the childhood they should."

She sighs, leaning back in her chair and letting her eyes flutter shut. "Sometimes I get burnt out a bit, you know? Sometimes I wonder what I'm even doing this for. If I'm actually helping anyone or if I'm just fooling myself."

Your heart aches, and you are immensely grateful that you can reach forward and take her hand, your thumb brushing along her knuckles. "You're doing plenty, Khanyisa." You say softly. "You're right; not every time will you be able to make everything better or get the best outcome for everyone. But at least you care, and you're doing the best you can, and that's what counts.”

“Besides," you continue, leaning closer, "even if you don't feel like you're making a difference in this case, that doesn't erase all the clients and families you've had previously where you did make a difference. And it doesn't take away all the chances in the future you'll have to continue helping people, you know? You are the sweetest, kindest, smartest, most compassionate person I've ever met. So please don't doubt yourself, not for a second."

She quickly wipes her eyes under her glasses with her sleeve. "Thanks," she says, swallowing tightly. "You're right, it's a rough case, but that doesn't mean all of my efforts are worthless."

"None of your efforts are," you respond immediately. "As long as good intent is there, that means something. It did for your aunt, didn't it? You told me that that worked out in the end."

Her smile grows. "You're right, it did." Her expression turns a touch shy, a less frequent sight the longer you've been together. "Thank you," she says, "for listening to me and for always knowing the right thing to say."

Your own cheeks warm as you gaze at the woman in front of you, "I don't know if I can claim that ability. But you know what I can claim with 100% certainty?"

She cocks her head. "What?"

Butterflies flutter in your stomach, but you don't hesitate in your response. "I love you."

Her eyes immediately widen, cheeks darkening, and her free hand flies up to her mouth. She stares motionlessly at you for a moment, and you feel your nerves twist; then, all at once, her expression melts, and you swear that her voice is the sweetest thing you've ever heard.

"I love you too."